Chapter 30
Vera
Idon’t know what I expected the entrance to the nymphs to look like… a waterfall? A beautiful tree path? Something… not like this.
Endri leads us inside an enormous cave. It’s blazing scary if you ask me—all dark and echoing and cold with odd engravings on its walls.
Rupi doesn’t appear to like it either, given the way she huddles beside Ikar’s neck.
I would also love to huddle against him, but he’s the blazing king, so I keep my distance like I know I should, watching him walk ahead while I feel irritated by the situation all over again.
I bring a small lucent orb to life in my hand, just enough to light the ground beneath our feet, and follow grudgingly.
Unlike the velvet widow cave, the ceiling of this cave is high and the ground solid and unnaturally smooth.
I eye the engravings on the wall, looking for violent images that would warn us away, but I don’t understand any of them…
I’m not sure whether to feel relieved or more concerned.
There have been no turns to take, so surely, if we need to escape, we can.
I’m sure if Endri hears that I doubt her as a guide she’ll be offended and decide not to show us the way, so I lean closer to Darvy and lower my voice to a whisper. “What happens if this cave ends up going nowhere?”
“We’ll turn around, of course.” He says it so jauntily I want to smack him in the arm.
I envy his carefree spirit and the fact his magic isn’t lunging for a forbidden lover. I’m not sure how many more days I can keep my sanity intact with the way my magic yearns for Ikar.
Eventually Rhosse and Darvy take the lead, following Endri around the twists and turns of the cave.
I eye their backs, confused by feelings of relief to have found them again, but resenting that they were in on the worst of secrets.
I can’t help but admit I feel betrayed by them, as well, but I don’t have it in me to bring it up with the two of them.
What good will it do? I just need to finish this blazing mission and disappear.
I ignore the rebellious ache in my heart at the thought of never seeing the three of them again and remind myself that it’s for the best.
I can’t linger on those thoughts long because Ikar walks behind me, and I’m highly aware of how my magic so badly wants him now that we are in this quiet, dark space, and there’s nothing to distract myself with.
I try to fill my mind with thoughts about the nymphs, which is a mistake because now I have to ask questions.
I tell myself it’s only because I want to be prepared, that I don’t need to hear the sound of his voice or walk beside him, but my magic and I both know it’s a lie.
I look over my shoulder and slow my steps until Ikar catches up. I meet his questioning gaze as he comes to walk by my side.
“I’ve heard you discuss the nymphs, that they should be able to lead us to the”—I clear my throat and force the next word out—“flower. Why are they so special?”
“As far as I know, a king hasn’t visited the nymphs since the last time a black tulip was retrieved from the Field of Tulips, which was hundreds of years ago.
But at that time, there was a queen named Odella who was a seer and a powerful magic user.
Sort of like the fae… the nymphs have always existed in their own realm, mostly unseen by humans, then lucent magic drew those creatures to our realm, and they settled in—there are benefits to having them here. ”
I snicker. “I won’t tell Drade you consider him a creature.”
Ikar grins, and for a moment I sense normalcy between us, and I savor it.
“The fae have their own realms that I have no authority over,” he explains, “but here in Moneyre I do, since some of their people choose to live in the human realm—and that means Drade and I have to do our best to get along.”
“He doesn’t seem to like you,” I say bluntly.
“He doesn’t like anyone.” Ikar looks down at me with a thoughtful expression. “Except you.”
Our hands brush as we walk, and I can’t help the twitch of my fingers that gives away the instinctive urge to have them entwined in his…
“Don’t think he likes me much either, actually,” I muse. It’s true. How could he after how I took off the way I did?
Ikar shakes his head. “You’re wrong. I’ve thought about it for days… and I think I know what you did to him, Vera.”
I can’t tell if he’s joking or not, but the sound of my name on his lips has my heart skipping beats. My mouth opens, but no words come out. What does that mean?
“Did you love him?” he asks, not waiting for a response.
“Love hi—What?” I sputter.
Rupi bounces back and forth across Ikar’s shoulder, apparently sensing the tension between us.
“So you did.”
Why do his eyes darken in the shadows when he says it, as if he’s jealous? I can’t think straight and my words come out like an uncontrollable avalanche.
“No. We were young. We had a lot of fun.” I glance up to see a scowl on his face. “We got along, but it never would have worked. It was nothing like—”
He raises a brow, and I realize our steps have slowed.
“Nothing like what?”
Nothing like this. He and I.
I frown at him, done answering his questions.
I stuff my feelings into a manageable corner of my heart and remind myself that I’ve never actually loved anyone, so how should I know?
I can’t love a king, especially the one standing beside me.
And if we’re going to step into past relationship territory, I have questions of my own.
“Nadiette. Did you love her?”
A slow smile turns his lips in the shadows as his gaze holds mine. “I thought I did, but I’ve learned recently that what I felt was never more than friendship. She’ll always be a good friend, but never more.”
Why does my heart pound with delight at those words? Why do I assume he’s implying feelings for me when that can never be? I force myself to look away, and I finally see warm light ahead, beginning to light the cave and stealing our moment of shadow-shrouded privacy.
Ikar looks my way. “Does Drade still have a chance?”
“Well, he did win the challenge…” I laugh at the affronted look on his face.
“That was a draw.”
I offer a one-shoulder shrug. “Was it though? No one actually saw. You looked pretty beat up.” And incredible.
I remember that night well.
The look on his face when he’s about to argue with me is so attractive my breath hitches, but before he can say anything, Rhosse and Darvy stop behind Endri.
Her high-pitched voice carries through the cave. “It’s just around the corner. When you walk beneath the light, it will alert the guards.”
She gestures with a hand for us to move past her. The way Ikar’s hand goes to his sword doesn’t escape my notice.
“I thought the nymphs were supposed to be our friends. You were confident Odella wouldn’t kill you,” I whisper, alarmed at his reaction.
“She won’t if she gets a chance to meet me… the guards, I don’t know. They were friends two hundred years ago. We’ll find out soon if they still are. Prepare to defend yourself, and be grateful if you don’t have to.”
Spoken like a true warrior.
I sigh and prepare to grab my own sword while pulling lucent just in case.
Ahead, I spot what appear to be ancient soldiers sculpted out of the stone walls, their bodies half-protruding with swords and shields grasped in their large hands.
I lean around Rhosse to get a better view of what’s past the stone guards and find it’s merely a sealed off wall that ends the cave.
I almost moan at the thought of having to turn around. I thought Endri said this was it.
“This looks like a dead end,” I whisper, though I don’t know why I’m worried about anything hearing me because it’s merely us stuck at the end of a torturously long tunnel.
Endri points to the ceiling with an overly patient look, and my eyes are drawn upward. “Like I said, you must walk beneath.”
Gentle streams of light enter through intricate, swirling cutouts in the stone above us that brighten the stone walls, illuminating the faces of the stone soldiers.
We step forward, but I’m very aware that Endri hangs back in the shadows—it’s apparent she doesn’t have much confidence in our survival.
My chest tightens with nerves. Just as the warm light touches our skin, the cave walls that hold the soldiers crack and transform, and six living men step forward.
I blink quickly several times to ensure I’m not going insane.
They move faster than men who were just encased in stone should be able to and form two lines before us, blocking our way.
Their bodies are sculpted muscle, and they appear to wear ancient armor over clothing of twined vines, holding swords at their sides with shields raised.
Their features are perfectly chiseled and unmoving.
They stand so still that they once again appear as statues.
“Go no farther,” one of them commands, his voice echoing so loudly off the walls around us that it hurts my ears.
We freeze where we are. I shift my weight and prepare myself to sprint in the other direction, but instead, with an almost unnoticeable nod, Ikar indicates for Rhosse to proceed.
“We are here on behalf of the High King of Moneyre.” Rhosse says. “We request a meeting with Queen Odella.”
While he speaks, I take a moment to glance at the cave walls around us. Are there other warriors waiting to step out? And what happens if they refuse us entrance? Will they let us leave… or will we be killed before they step back in their walls, as Endri warned?
I swallow tightly and shift closer to Ikar, not caring at the moment how my magic curls in delight and pulls toward his. Better that than being sliced by a cave man.
“Queen Odella will grant passage to one who proves he is the high king.”
Rhosse looks back at Ikar and there’s a long moment of silence before Ikar steps forward.
I grab his arm without thinking, eyes wide. “What are you doing?” I hiss.